The World Health Organisation (WHO) has ruled out the possibility of monkeypox becoming one of the deadliest pandemics.
Monkeypox has been described by WHO as a virus that is transmitted to humans from animals, with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
But what people have to worry about most, specifically adults who are married, or gay people are the effects by the symptoms.
WHO has said that human-to-human transmission of monkeypox can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person, or recently contaminated objects.
This means that sexually active individuals may have to avoid sexual intimacy if one of them is infected.
On Tuesday, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued news guidelines in its bid to reduce the spread of monkeypox. The WHO guidelines however stated that it is yet to be established if monkeypox can be transmitted by sexual intercourse or close contact.
“It is not yet known whether this virus is exploiting a new mode of transmission, but what is clear is that it continues to exploit its well-known mode of transmission, which is close physical contact,” WHO’s leading monkeypox expert Dr Rosamund Lewis said.
Transmission can also happen through droplet respiratory particles, and usually requires prolonged face-to-face contact, which puts health workers, household members, and other close contacts of active cases at greater risk.
The Ministry of Health in Kenya has been on a high alert following the outbreak of monkeypox but the country is yet to report a single case or a patient with its symptoms.
